News Digest: PM, most ministers give President's iftar party a miss

		THE TIMES OF INDIA
		Saturday, July 02, 2016
		Today's Headlines

		India
		PM, most ministers give President's iftar party a miss Dhingra: If money for village road is favour, I want more Uniform Civil Code: Govt seeks law panel's view More India News»

		Business
		Rating agencies need to be more transparent: RBI Rating agencies need to be more transparent in disclosures on stressed companies and assets so that lenders as well as asset reconstruction companies can arrive at he right valuation, RBI chief general manager Ajay K Choudhary said, adding that this can go a long way in resolving bad loan problem. US auto sales on track for best June since 2005 Robust sales of pickup trucks and SUVs put the US auto industry on track to record its best June in more than a decade despite a dip in sales at General Motors. Ford Motor Co said its US sales rose 6.4% to 240,109 vehicles in June, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said June sales rose 7% to 197,073. Oil falls as oversupply concerns return to centre stage Oil prices eased on Friday as the market's focus returned to oversupply as production from Nigeria and Canada revived, and Opec output reached a record high in June. Brent crude futures were down 17 cents at $49.54 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $48.18, down 15 cents. More Business News»

		Environment
		Climate change threatening penguins in Antarctica: Study Continued warming of Antarctica due to climate change may lead to decline of 60 per cent of Adelie penguin colonies by the end of this century, a new study has warned. Continued warming is expected to lead to population declines at approximately 30 per cent of colonies by 2060. Signs of 'healing' ozone layer over Antarctic: Study The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic has begun to shrink, signaling good news for the environment decades after an international accord to phase out certain pollutants, researchers said on Thursday. The study found that the ozone hole had shrunk by 1.5 million square miles Year after Cecil outrage, African lions still vulnerable The death of Cecil at a Zimbabwe park raised lions' profile on the "conservation radar", but most substantive steps in lion conservation since then have been directed against trophy hunting rather than bigger problems like depleting numbers and human encroachment. More Environment News»

		World
		Austria court overturns presidential poll, calls rerun Austria's highest court overturned the results of the country's presidential election and ordered a rerun, following claims of counting irregularities by the right-wing Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer who narrowly lost. The decision is unprecedented in Austria's post-war history. Amnesty reports 'horrifying' abuse of migrants in Libya Amnesty International published a report of "horrifying" accounts by migrants of exploitation and sexual abuse in Libya, including Christians who were abducted by ISIS and forced into sexual slavery. It said sexual abuse is so widespread that some women take contraceptives before their sea crossing. Now isolated, Britain joins France at Somme centenary A week after Britain's vote to leave the European Union, British Prime Minister David Cameron and members of the royal family were standing side-by-side with France's president to celebrate their historic alliance at the centenary of Battle of Somme that saw over a million dead, injured or missing. More World News»

		Entertainment
		Kareena to take a break post September While Kareena Kapoor Khan hasn't confirmed or denied that she is pregnant, buzz is that she is keen to complete her next, 'Veere Di Wedding' by early September. When Deepika did her own laundry and cooking Deepika Padukone wrapped up her Hollywood project, 'xXx: The Return of Xander Cage' and she had wonderful things to say about her experiences. Priyanka's response for her armpit haters Recently, when the cover of a popular magazine was published, global star Priyanka Chopra's armpit came under tight scrutiny by gossip mongers for being way too perfect for us humans. More Entertainment News»

		Science
		Genetic switch may erase unpleasant memories: Study Scientists from KU Leuven in Belgium and Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Germany have shown that some memories can be erased when one particular gene is switched off. Nasa's Juno spacecraft enters Jupiter's magnetic field Nasa's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft has entered the planet's magnetosphere, where the movement of particles in space is controlled by what is going on inside Jupiter. Juno is on course to swing into orbit around Jupiter on July 4. Journey to Jupiter: Nasa spacecraft nears planet rendezvous Jupiter takes center stage with the arrival next week of Nasa's solar-powered Juno spacecraft built to peek through its thick, swirling clouds and map the planet from the inside out. More Science News»

		Sports
		'Cricket in 2024 Olympics if Rome wins hosting bid' Rome is one of the cities bidding to host the Olympics in 2024 alongside Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest. And, under new regulations, will have the opportunity to add five sports to the games as they deem fit. Nirmala qualifies for Rio Olympics in 400m dash Indian quarter-miler Nirmala Sheoran made the cut for next month's Rio Olympics after clocking 51.48 secs in 400m at the National Inter-State Senior Athletics championships on Friday. Wimbledon: Del Potro knocks out fourth seed Wawrinka Juan Martin Del Potro proved that multiple wrist surgeries had not robbed him off his flowing racket skills as he knocked out fourth seed Stan Wawrinka with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 in the second round of Wimbledon on Friday. More Sports News»

		Technology
		Android Nougat: 10 new features to check out The latest version (7.0) of Android, which was only known as Android N until a few hours ago, has finally gotten an official name. 8 things you didn't know you can do on your Android phone Xiaomi Mi Max (3GB) review: Great price, but not for all The Xiaomi Mi Max boasts of a compact form factor, metal body, fingerprint scanner, long battery life along with regular phone features, which are absent in most budget Android tablets.At a price of Rs 14,999 the Mi Max seems to offer good value and those looking at using it as a primary phone will need some serious getting-used to. Here is our full review. More Technology News»

		Education
		67 of 100 top-rankers flock to IIT Bombay IIT-Bombay got the cream of students this year too, with 67 of the top 100 rankers choosing the Powai campus to pursue their BTech. Last year, it was 65. IIT-Delhi retained its second position among the top choices of students, but toppers choosing the institute dropped from 30 to 28 this year. Education panel's rift with govt gets wider, chief's talk cancelled Delhi university admissions: Cutoffs high, BCom soars at Ramjas College More Education News»

		Mumbai
		Sheena is ruining my reputation by calling me Ma: Indrani to driver Rai Following a Bombay high court order, copies of Sheena Bora murder accused Indrani Mukerjea’s former driver Shyamvar Rai’s 12-page confessional statement were given to defence advocates Shreyansh Mithare and Gunjan Mangla on Friday. Midnight-to-dawn sehri parties new Ramzan rage It’s past midnight. Guests, mostly clad in kurtapyjama, keep sauntering in and out of a plush, decorated reception hall in the rain-drenched Hill Road belt of Bandra. 'Limited education, lack of planning hampering pension reach' Mumbai, Jun 28 () Limited education about financial savings and a lack of retirement planning pose a challenge in extending and deepening the reach of voluntary pension plans, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said today. More Mumbai News»

		Delhi
		Rajasthan brands the living dead, denies them pension Until three days ago, Kalu Ram says he had no idea he was dead. Government records say he is. That is why the 36-year-old had not received his disability pension for the past six months. ​ Net neutrality story echoes on Trai's Free Data paper New Delhi, Jul 1 () Several IT companies have expressed concerns over possible net neutrality violation due to regulator Trai's proposal to explore models to provide free data, while telecom operators have questioned the move. SC upholds life term of three for brutal murder of young bride New Delhi, Jun 30 () The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and life term awarded to three members of a family for murdering and chopping off their young bride's body and disposing it of in a park ten years ago. More Delhi News»

		Bangalore
		Court scraps payment of life tax for non-KA vehicles The high court on Friday termed "unconstitutional" the lifetime tax that owners of non-KA vehicles had to pay if their vehicle was used in the state for more than 30 days at a stretch. Looking forward to test myself by bowling to Kohli: Shardul Bengaluru, Jun 30 () The only new face for the West Indies Test tour, rookie Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur today said he was looking forward to test himself by bowling to skipper Virat Kohli at the nets. IAF to induct first squadron of homegrown Tejas tomorrow Bengaluru, Jun 30 () Indian Air Force will raise the first squadron of home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas with the induction of two aircraft into the force here tomorrow. More Bangalore News»

		Hyderabad
		Held as pirate, Indian sailor freed in Nigeria Joy erupted at P Manoj Kumar's residence in Saroornagar here on Friday when he called his father to tell him about his release from a prison in Nigeria. Owaisi offers legal aid to Hyderabad IS suspects Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday announced his party would provide legal aid to five IS suspects arrested from Hyderabad three days earlier. He said a Hyderabad lawyer has been consulted for the purpose. NGT nixes govt's KBR tree felling plan In a huge victory for the citizen-driven 'Save KBR' movement, the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday directed the Telangana government to maintain status quo around the national park and also stayed a controversial government order (GO 19) issued on May 13. More Hyderabad News»

		Chennai
		Jaya shoots mail, asks AP CM to stop work on Palar Political leaders in Tamil Nadu, including chief minister J Jayalalithaa, have strongly objected to Andhra Pradesh constructing a check dam across Palar river at Perumpallam village in Chittoor district to increase water storage capacity. TN govt's nod not required to probe corrupt babus: HC In a landmark ruling, Madras high court has quashed a Tamil Nadu government order making prior permission or ‘remarks’ from the government mandatory for probing corruption allegations against all ‘public servants’ irrespective of category and rank. Cops arrest Swathi killer in Tirunelveli, he attempts suicide Software engineer S Swathi’s killer, a 24-year-old engineering graduate, was arrested from his native place of Sengottai in Tirunelveli late on Friday night, city police said. Swathi, an employee of Infosys, was hacked to death around 6.45am at Nungambakkam railway station on June 24. More Chennai News»

		Ahmedabad
		5 held for creating ruckus at Vastral petrol pump on Thursday night Ramol police on Friday arrested five youths for creating ruckus at a petrol pump on Thursday night. Ramol police sources said among the arrested are Vanshraj Sengar, Lokendrasinh Tomar, Shreeramsinh Chauhan, Hemendrasinh Chauhan and Nitendrasinh Bhadoria all residents of Vastral. CCTVs installed on entire 18km Rath Yatra route Gujarat minister also involved in recruitment scam: Prime accused Ahmedabad, July 1 (IANS) Senior Gujarat minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama has landed in a controversy as the multi-crore recruitment scam's prime suspect Kalyansinh Champavat accused him of involvement in the racket. Chudasama dismissed the charge as "baseless" and threatened legal action against Champavat. More Ahmedabad News»

		Allahabad
		AU cancels CRET of one centre amid unrest Authorities of Allahabad University have decided to cancel the Bishop Jonson test center (near district collectorate) for the combined research entrance test (CRET) as there were reports of mass copying from the center. Besides the Vice-Chancellor would be meeting with aspirants of both PG and research on July 4 and hear their grievances. No end to Allahabad Unievrsity protest saga Student leaders of Allahabad University continued with their protest on the campus for the third day on Wednesday. Protesting student leaders burnt the effigy of AU Vice-Chancellor Prof RL Hangloo and threatened that the proposed meeting of the executive council would be disrupted if their demands are not fulfilled by the administration. Cong protest against traffic jams Congress workers on Wednesday staged a demonstration at Kotwali police station in protest against the closure of Niranjan under bridge by railways at a time when shopping for Eid is at its peak. More Allahabad News»

		Bhubaneswar
		Congress calls for bandh in 8 backward districts on July 2 Bhubaneswar, June 30 () Dubbing NDA government at the Centre and BJD government in Odisha as "anti-tribal", Congress today called for a bandh in 8 backward districts of KBK region on July 2 demanding proper implementation of Forest Rights Act and release of party leaders arrested on alleged false IPS officer facing corruption charges moves court for anticipatory bail Congress mulls to replace chief whip in Odisha The Congress legislature party is mulling a change of guard in the post of party chief whip in the state. The issue cropped up in a meeting of party MLAs here on Friday. More Bhubaneswar News»

		Bhopal
		Performance yardstick for portfolios No ticket, post above 75 years of age: BJP Penalty on people defecating in open All the panchayats have imposed penalties on the people found defecating in open.These penalties vary between Rs 100 to Rs 500. More Bhopal News»

		Chandigarh
		In 'Udta Haryana', 4-fold jump in addicts in 4 years Widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs by candidates at Haryana police's recruitment camp in Kurukshetra may not be an aberration if numbers of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science (PGIMS), Rohtak, are anything to go by. 2 Gurgaon lab sealed, 1 showcaused for dengue test over-charge Chandigarh, Jul 1 () The Haryana Health Department has issued showcause notices to three private laboratories hospitals in Gurgaon and sealed two of them over allegations that they were over-charging for dengue tests. HP police to attach properties of drug peddlers After arresting 65 drug peddlers in past one month, Kangra police have started the process of attaching their properties that were allegedly bought from the illicit gains of the illegal trade. More Chandigarh News»

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